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It appears that the U.S. during the Security Consultative Meeting on Friday urged South Korea to join the Proliferation Security Initiative fully after North Korea¡¯s nuclear test. For fear of angering Pyongyang, Seoul has been reluctant to play a full part in the initiative aimed at intercepting suspicious North Korean ships.
When asked if the U.S. asked South Korea to take part in the PSI, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld at a joint press conference with his Korean counterpart Yoon Kwang-ung on Friday said, ¡°The Republic of Korea's an important country, and needless to say, we've expressed the hope that they will decide to participate.¡± He was the first senior U.S. government official to state the request officially. ¡°the (nuclear) programs of Iran and North Korea punctuate the importance of counter-proliferations efforts of that type,¡± Rumsfeld said. The PSI issue was not on the official SCM agenda.
A senior Pentagon official told reporters the U.S. repeatedly asked South Korea to participate fully in the PSI. He added this had nothing to do with the UN Security Council resolution against the North; rather, the need for Seoul¡¯s participation was stressed several times before North Korea conducted its nuclear test.
The language is rather stronger than U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice¡¯s when she visited Seoul on Thursday. In a press conference with Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon on Thursday, Rice put it diplomatically. She ¡°also came to share some ideas, to share discussions about how Resolution 1718 might be implemented,¡± she said. Another area of discord between the two sides appears to be opening up.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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